Sunflowers in the Snow
by Lady Kakirachan
Summary: Curious to know how Russia obtained his love of sunflowers, the other countries soon learn about how Russia got them and about the young woman who helped him. RussiaxOC / Short chapters like short episodes
1. Chapter 1

As all the countries gathered around the table for another world conference, Russia walked with a bouquet of sunflowers in his arms and a small smile on his face. WWII was done and over with and he was glad that, for the most part, all the countries where getting along. While walking into the room, France spotted him and walked over to him.

"Hey, Russia," he said, pointing to the giant yellow flowers, "What's with the sunflowers?" Russia looked at him, "These?" France nodded.

"These are memories... and a gift."

"For who?"

"Not for someone... from someone." France sighed, "I would have rather gotten a dozen roses then sunflowers. Who gave those to you anyway?" Russia looked down at the bouquet, a hint of sadness was present in his eyes.

"I haven't seen the person who gave these to me in years..." he said, "She disappeared after giving me these and the seeds to grow my own." Before France could respond, America poked his head out the door. "Hey, you two. We're about to start... Russia, where did those come from? I thought sunflowers were only native to where I live." Russia walked to his seat and sat the flowers on the table in front of him.

"Like I said to France, these are a gift from someone," he said, "I can grow them now that she showed me how." Russia, looking up, noticing the other countries looking at him.

"Who is this person that can grow sunflowers in the snow?" England asked, "It seems illogical for that to happen. I mean, don't they need full sunlight to grow?"

"Yes! We have to know who this woman is, Russia!" America said, the previous points on the blackboard behind him erased and changed to 'Today's goal: Figure out the mysterious sunflower woman!'

"If he doesn't want to tell us, he doesn't have to," China chimed in, "Stop acting like children."

"I could care less who she is," France said, "But if she's pretty then I might want to meet her."

"Weren't we here to find a solution for America's crumbling economy?" Japan asked quietly, "And Korea's obsession with nuclear weapons, instead of prying into Russia's past?"

"Um...shouldn't we just start the meeting?" Sealand asked as America nodded. "Sealand's right. We should get the meeting underway," he said, sitting down, "We should let Russia tell us himself about this woman and how she's able to grow sunflowers in the snow." Japan and China sighed in unison as Russia shook his head.

"It's been a while ago, but I will tell you all what I remember of her," he said with a smile. The other countries gathered around closer to hear what Russia had to say.

_"It was many years ago when I first met her...."_


	2. Chapter 2

Sunflowers in the snow

Chapter 2

((Flashbacks will be in italics))

"It was many years ago when I first met her...." Russia said, thinking back to that day...

_Russia wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck and looked around. What possessed him to wander off into a snowstorm was a mystery, even to him. He put an arm over his eyes and looked forward. White. Nothing but white. The sky was white with heavy sheets of snow being blown down with an icy Northern wind. The normally barren wasteland was covered in several feet of snow as if trying to cover up the gruesome truth with something beautiful. The few trees that were there disappeared behind the snow. He sighed to himself and continued walked straight ahead._

_He didn't remember how long he had been walking in the snow in that same direction or how far he had gotten from his home before stopping and sighed. "There's nothing out here," he said to himself, "I should just head back..." He rested for a moment as the wind died down. "At least the storm is dying down. I wish I could live somewhere warmer..." Looking around again, he saw something that caught his eye: a flower growing up from the snow. Russia rubbed his eyes and blinked, thinking he was imagining the flower and looked again. The yellow flower was still there, trembling in the breeze. He ran over to the flower and knelt down._

_"Is that...?" He looked at the flower carefully, "It's a sunflower."_

"Wait, you found a sunflower in the middle of a snowstorm?" England chimed in as Russia nodded, "How was that even possible?" America quickly threw an empty plastic cup at England.

"Don't interrupt him!" he said, "I want to hear more of his story! Keep going, Russia." Russia nodded again...

_"It's a sunflower." He reached out and grabbed it. "It's a real sunflower!" he smiled, trying to pull it from the ground. He muttered something in Russian and pulled harder. When the flower finally began to lift, he saw something gripping onto the other end of it: a hand with a death grip on the flower. "...." He stopped for a moment, thinking about all the things he's seen and decided to dig._

_He thought he would find a dismembered arm or a dead body, but was surprised by what he saw. A young woman with short blonde hair laid in the snow, dressed in a long blue and white dress and barefooted; her hand gripped tightly around the flower. He held his breathe and placed two fingers under her chin, hoping for a pulse._

To be conintued...


	3. Chapter 3

Sunflowers in the snow

Chapter 3

((Flashbacks will be in italics))

_He held his breathe and placed two fingers under her chin, hoping for a pulse. If she was just another dead body, he'd have to get rid of it. He found one; it was weak, but it was there. Russia sighed in relief that the woman he found was alive. He picked her up and turned around to head home. To his surprise, he was only several meters from his home. He looked down at the woman and noticed that she still had the flower in her hand. As the wind began to pick up again, he quickly walked back to his home._

_Russia laid the woman on his bed and started a fire in the fireplace. He buddled the woman up in thick blankets and wrapped her feet with animal fur. "...." Russia managed to the get the flower from her hand and placed it in a thin vase by the window. Outside, the storm had picked up again and two more feet of snow had already fallen. "At this rate, she would have been completely burried..." he said to himself, "Not even the sunflower would have been seen." He set a kettle of water above the fire and sat in front of it, rubbing his hands together. He looked over at the woman and noticed some color on her cheeks. She was shivering slightly, but her breathing was normal._

"For a moment, I thought you were going to say that she was dead when you found her and did wierd things to her body," France said. "I was afraid that she was dead," Russia answered, "But I'm glad she was alive."

"So, was she pretty?" France asked as Russia nodded.

"Her face was a creamy pale pink color with her cheeks colored pink," he said, "Her hair was blonde and fell short of her shoulders... her lips were tinted red..."

"I have to meet this woman," France said, beginning to daydream about her.

_Russia poured the hot water into several hot water bottles and laid them under her feet and some on her feet. The storm wasn't letting up and he could see the snow building up to his window. "We might be snowed in together," he said to the woman, not knowing if she could hear him or not. He began to think about what he should do if she doesn't wake up; maybe he would bury her body out behind his home... or dismember her body and leave the parts in different corners of the country..._

_"...ugh..." He heard a small noise and looked over at the woman. She started to stir a little and opened her eyes. Russia saw her dark jade eyes, soft and unfocused, looking over at him and into his own eyes. He felt his cheeks turning a shade of dark pink as she began to sit up. "...D-don't try to move yet, Miss," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her laying down, "I found you burried in the snow... you need to rest." She looked up at him and nodded._

_"Thank you..." she said, "Mister...?"_

_"Ivan," he smiled, "What's your name, Miss?" She laid back down and closed her eyes._

_"My name is Esther..."_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

((Flashbacks will be in italics))

_"My name is Esther..."_

---

"Question," England said, raising his hand, "Who exactly is this Esther woman?" Russia thought for a second, "You might have heard of her as The Netherlands before." Germany blinked, "You mean that cross-dressing Holland?"

Russia threw an empty paper cup at Germany's head, "I know a woman when I see one." [*Note: The Netherlands is often called Holland by mistake. Holland (North and South) is a providence within The Netherlands.*]

France grinned as Russia looked at him. "I'll explain how I know later."

"Oh! I know her!" America said, "I traded goods with her once or twice." Russia nodded, "She loved to trade with others and she also loved..." He looked down at the sunflowers and smiled.

"Hmm? I remember when I first met her, she took a few sunflowers with her from my house," America said, "She said something about them being a pretty flower and wanted to take them with her." Russia looked at him and continued his story.

---

_Ivan nodded and moved back to the fire. "...Are you hungry?" he asked as she nodded. He started cooking something over the fire as Esther looked around. She didn't remember the blank walls or dark looking room they were in; she didn't know the young man whose bed she was lying in, bundled up in covers that smelled faintly of vodka and blood. She felt her stomach lurch a bit and curled up on her side. She curled her toes, but blinked when she didn't feel them curl. Looking down at them, she saw them wrapped in animal fur covered in hot water bottles. "I found in the snow," Ivan said, "You're lucky your feet aren't frost bitten... I would have had to cut them off." She gasped at the thought as he handed her a bowl with rice and some meat and gravy on top, "Eat up. You'll need your strength." She took the bowl and looked down at it. It was a weird looking meal and it somewhat reminded her of dog food. She picked up some meat and rice with the fork and ate it._

_"Do you like it?" Ivan asked as she nodded a little._

_"It's a weird tasting meat..." she said, "But it's good. What is it?" Ivan grinned, "Cow tongue." Esther immediately spat it out and gagged, the bowl falling to the floor, spilling the food._

_"Disgusting! How can you eat something like that?! I feel as though I've been making out with a cow," she said, holding her throat and sticking out her tongue. Ivan looked at the bowl then glared at Esther._

_"I do not know where you're from, but here, we do not waste a single drop of food," he said, coldly, "If you don't want to starve, I suggest you pick it up and eat it." She looked at the man and felt a shiver going down her spine. She leaned down and picked up the bowl and bits of meat that fell from it. He went to the table where the sunflower sat and tossed her a piece of dried bread. "Use that to mop up the gravy you spilled as well," he said as she did so. After she was finished, she forced herself to eat the meal, wincing at the thought of what she was eating plus the dirt from the floor. She bit into the bread and looked down sadly at her wrapped feet._

_"...W-when may I go home?" she asked, setting the empty bowl down on the floor. Ivan looked out the window and sighed._

_The storm wasn't letting up and the snow was up to the window, almost covering it. "Months," he said._

_"Months?!" she repeated as he nodded._

_"We're snowed in, if you haven't noticed and until the snow melts away, you're going to be my house guest."_


	5. Chapter 5

Sunflowers in the snow

Chapter 5

((Flashbacks will be in italics))

_"We're snowed in, if you haven't noticed and until the snow melts away, you're going to be my house guest." Ivan turned to her and looked at her. She trembled a bit and tried to move away from him. Ivan smiled at her and walked towards her._

_"Stay back!" she said as he sat on the other end of the bed._

_"Please don't be frightened... we have to get along while we wait for the snow to melt. I don't want you to fear me..."_

_"You said you'd cut my feet off with a smile and then forced me to eat cow's tongue..."_

_"I didn't force you. If I had force you to eat it, I would had straddled you and feed you myself," he smiled as she moved further away. "You are one disturbed young man, Ivan..." Esther said, curling up and looking at her feet again. She flinched a bit as feeling began coming back to her feet. It felt someone was pricking her feet with hundreds of needles. Ivan watched carefully as she rubbed her feet._

_"You should try walking on them," the Russian suggested with a smile. Esther nodded and scooted to the edge of the bed. Ivan stood up and stood in front of her, offering his hand to her. She took it and pulled herself up, bumping into his chest slightly. "I'm sorry," she said quickly, moving back a bit. He nodded and took a step back, still holding her hands in his. She took a few stumbling steps and flinched more, leaning on Ivan._

_"...It hurts..." she said as Ivan helped her back to the bed. She laid down as Ivan went to refill the hot water bottles._

_"Hmm... you might have to rest for a while longer," he said softly, pouring more hot water into them, "Just until you get complete feeling back into your feet." He turned to her and smiled again, "But if they don't after a while, I'll be more than happy to cut them off for you."_

_"I already told you not to cut them off. What point of that didn't you get?" she asked, glaring at the man._

---

"You were dead set on cutting her feet off, weren't you?" Arthur said sipping his tea. Ivan blinked, "Well, if it didn't work, what point would there be in keeping it?" The others moved back from Ivan slightly, Francis covering himself.

"What?" Ivan asked, looking at everyone, "It's the truth, da."

"...." There was an uneasy silence that fell over the room. They knew that Ivan was cracked, but back then it seemed he was even more disturbed and twisted.

"Big brother," Natalia said softly, "Why didn't you tell me about this young woman who slept in your bed before I could?" Ivan smiled, "Well, because it was none of your business of whom I invite into my home." Natalia glared as Ivan continued.

---

_He stood up and placed the hot water bottles on her feet again, "Well, there would be no use in keeping them if they don't work." Esther frowned, "Well, I don't want to use crutches or be bound to a chair all my life. I would want to run through the fields of tulips and flowers that grow at my home." Ivan blinked._

_"...Your home?"_

_"Yes. Flowers grow everywhere there... the weather is very nice. Nice and warm during the spring and summer... cool during autumn and winter." He nodded and sat next to her._

_"Please. Tell me more."_


	6. Chapter 6

Sunflowers in the snow

Chapter 6

((Flashbacks will be in italics))

_"Please. Tell me more." Esther nodded and began to tell him about her home in The Netherlands. Ivan listened carefully, a smile growing on his face. In his mind, he pictured the endless field of flowers the woman mentioned, the warm friendly sun and the beautiful blue skies. She smiled to herself._

_"Before I left home, I was had just planted tulip buds." Ivan blinked, "Tulips?" She nodded, "Have you ever seen one before?" The Russian shook his head. Esther looked down and cupped her hands, "They kinda look like this and open up just enough." He nodded, "What color are they?"_

_"They come in a lot of colors.. from a bright red down to a violet. I love them so much." Ivan smiled, "I see why. They sound beautiful." Esther smiled and looked out the window. "It rarely gets cold enough to snow at home..."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yes. It's cooler in the summer than in the winter."_

_"Wow. Sounds cool." She smiled and put her feet back onto the floor. "You're going to try again?" Ivan asked as she nodded. He stood up and helped her up. Esther stumbled a bit and sighed. Ivan watched her for a moment before a thought popped into his mind: having her under his control. To have someone like her and her land a part of him. For her to become one with Russia. Esther staggered a bit as Ivan caught her. "Thank you, Ivan," she smiled as he walked her to the wall and held her hands above her head with a look in his violet eyes that made her tremble._

_"You will become one with me, da?" he asked as she shook her head._

_"Let me go, Ivan," she said, struggling against him as he stepped closer to her, closing the gap between them, "Get off of me!!"_

---

"What the bloody hell did you do the woman?!" Arthur yelled, standing up as Ivan looked at him. "It's not what you think," the Russian said. Alfred and several others glared at Ivan, thinking he had committed an act of war. Belarus frowned at the others, "How can you guys blame big brother if he hurt that woman for not becoming one with him? In the future, everyone will be one with him."

"But I didn't hurt her," Ivan finally said, "If anything, she hurt me."

---

_Ivan smiled at the woman, trembling and struggling under him as tears beaded her eyes. "I won't let you go until you become one with me," he purred in a child-like voice as he felt a knee connect with groin. He stepped back and groaned in pain as Esther ran towards the door and tried to open it. When it didn't budge, she ran towards another door and flung it open. She ran inside and closed the door, locking it. Ivan watched her and sighed, coughing a bit. Esther sat by the door, trembling, no longer feeling any pain in her feet. She couldn't believe what he tried to do. "...Miss Esther?" Ivan asked softly as she whimpered._

_"Leave me alone!" she yelled as Ivan blinked and looked down._


	7. Chapter 7

Sunflowers in the snow

Chapter 7

((Flashbacks will be in italics))

_"Leave me alone!" she yelled as Ivan blinked and looked down. He walked to the door and stood by it._

_"Miss Esther... I didn't mean to do that..." he said softly as he heard her move from by the door. She looked around the room she was in; it seemed to be a guest room. She saw some clothes hanging by the window and figured that the 'monster' in the other room must have had another woman here._

_"Ivan... who do these clothes in here belong to?" Esther asked as he blinked, "Did you force some other woman to become one with you and kept her clothes here as some sick trophy?" The Russian flinched._

_"...Those clothes belong to my sister..."_

_"You sick bastard! You force your own sister to.."_

_"I did not!" He yelled back, "If you're looking at a dress, then I'm trying to avoid her at all costs!" Esther looked at the clothes; it wasn't a dress, but a white shirt and a set of overalls._

_"What about overalls?" Esther asked. Ivan looked down, trying to keep himself from breaking down the door, "Those belong to my older sister who is like a mother to me. I would never think of making her become one with me. She tends to come by to check on me since I live here alone and I let her stay so she don't have to worry about traveling at night."_

---

Arthur sat back down and sighed. The Baltics, who sat closer to Alfred, trembled knowing all too well the extent of Ivan when he wants someone to become one with him. Alfred scribbled something a piece of paper. Arthur looked over. The other nation had "Russia's weakness: his vital regions" written down. "Well, I don't blame that poor woman for thinking the way she did," Elizaveta spoke up, "If I was in the same situation, I would think Ivan was doing the same." The Russian frowned a bit, "But that's only because she didn't know I have two wonderful sisters. Once I explained everything about them to her, she finally came out the room."

---

_Esther looked at Ivan from a crack in the door, "Go stand on the other side of the room." Ivan sighed and walked over to the window as Esther walked out and sat on the bed. "Thank you," Esther said as Ivan looked at her then back outside. The storm was finally over so now the snow could start melting._

_"For what?" he asked as she sighed. "For respecting my wishes... and for telling me about your sisters. They sound like interesting people." Ivan nodded and sighed sadly, images from his past starting to surface again. He trembled a bit and wrapped his scarf closer to himself._

_"Miss Esther, do you want to know more about me?" he asked softly, "It might help you understand why I did that..."_


End file.
